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PATENTED 'AUG.-25, 1908 P. POWELL. GAS PRODUCER. APPLIG'A'IIOIVT FILED T1113. 6, l908.

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17206772307! Fedan:bk?awe No. 897,009. PATENTED AUG. 25, 1908- F. POWELL. GAS PRODUCER.

APPLICATION IILEDYIEB. 6, 1908'.

I 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

No. 897,009. PATENTED AUG. 25, 1908.

F. POWELL.

GAS PRODUCER. APPLICATION FILED 1'33. s, 1908.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Frederick/jg 1N0". mots;

To all whoin it may, I

Be it known that I, Fnnnnnron PowELL, a citizen of'the United States, I S l QSQAJ land, in the county of Multnoinah and State of Oregon, have invented a-newxand useful owingis. a specification; 1 i

My invention relates-to. nnprovements 1n Infiprovement in GasrPlfQducers, of which the 0 the construction of apparatus for use in the manufacture of producer gas from any of fuel, more especially from fuels containing volatile hydrocarbons and water, suchvae wood, lignite, bituminous coals, peat, sawdust, etc., with or without the addition of crude petroleum or other liquid fuel.

My object is to provide apparatus which will operate in a particulaarllfv economical, satisfactory and substanti continuous manner to produce from the el employed a uniformly good quality of gas.

In carrying out my invention I emaploy a gas producer furnace of the horizont t e the characteristic features of which are t e admission of air, or a plication of blast, at one end-portion of an e ongated fuel-chamber and withdrawal of the gas at the opposite end close to the grate, so that the draft is in a substantially horizontal direction through the fuel body. I provide this class of furnace with a gas-outlet at each end of its horizontally-elongated fuel-chamber and I also provide, pre erably, automatic means for reversing the direction of draft at suitable intervals by admitting air first to one and then the other end-portion of the chamber at the same time closing and opening the corres spending as-outlets alternately. The air is excluded om that side of the fuel-chamber which has its gas-outlet open for the time be m, and the gas-outlet is closed on the side to which air is being admitted.

To insure the proper admission of draft to one side, or end-portion, only of the chamber at one time I divide the ash-pit and grate by a solid transverse wall thereby making two ash-pits and two grate-sections which are, by preference, synnnetrically disposed with regard to the transverse axis of the furnace. For the purpose of diffusing the draft through the lower portion of the fucl-chmnhcr 1 provide, preferably, and us an extension of the said wall, a porous Milling-wall above the grate-level which admits the passage through it of the horizontal draft and operates, in

ma erick-reward ronrmun-oaneon.

1 specification ot jlliiettersl'atont. Applicaucn runny-.6, ia'oa s i-urns. 414,5;

Patented rug; 2;, ma; 1

effect, to break' and difiuse the draft, substanti fiy uniform-combustion of the" fuel-bodyflin t e fuel-chamber and .thereby pro aring asuflioientdepth of incandescent el to insure the pro or de'comosition and fixing ofthe gases efore th -c have the p rat I also provider n3 for preventing the products of distillation formed in the upper part 'of the fuel from being drawn immediately downward toward the gas-outlets, this at the same time being a means for assist difiusion of the draft through a considera 1e depth of the fuelbody. These effects are brought about by maintaining an induced draft or circulation upward through the fuel-body and downward through a by-pass leading from the top of the fuel-chamber to a passa e formed in the said transverse dividing Wlfil' at or near the grate level and discharging through the openings of the porous bafihng wall.

The withdrawing of distillation products above the fuel bod and their introduction into the lower and otter portion of the fuel is not in itself broadly new, but inasmuch as the contact of these distillation products with the incandescent fuel required to fix them acts to reduce the. temperature of such fuel, tending thus to destroy its incandescence and render it inca able of effecting the desired results, it will lie evident that the continuous introduction of the distillation products into the same mass of fuel, as has con the practice hitherto so far as I am aware, is apt not to be continuouslyeflective. As the fixing or decomposition of the distillation products depends upon the tem perature of the fuel into which they are discharged, means should be provided for intermittently raising the temperature of the fuel into which the said products of distillation are introduced. I obtain this result by the reversal of the draft causing the fuel on that side which has its airinlot open to be blown up and pro )arod to act ellioiontly as afixing zone. 1e volatiles from the top of the fuel chamber are caused to pass horizonlullx through only the fuel on the side of the porous homing \vnll opposite In that which has its air inlet open. The introduction of the volatiles at the point shown, midway botwocn the air inlets, enables me lo two-omplish this alternate blowing up and fixing ncapproximatel the lower 'one-third tions of the casing 14. The feeder has open ings 23 in its upper side and openings 24 m its lower 'lfi nnd 17 com mmiicet-ingrespectivdy with the hopper and 1835 a feeder in the form of a hollow dou hie-cone which fills out the interior of the casing'14and rotates freely in the horizontal direction having a, surrounding flange passing between the casing sections provided with a circumferential worm gear 19 at which it is engaged by a worm-shaft 20 which is driven by a. pulley 21 and is journaled in bearings 22 integral with the sec- In operation as the feeder is rotated by the worm-shaft 20 the o enings 23 register with the openings 16 causing the hollow feeder to be filled with fuel from the hopper. In the further rotation of the feeder the openings 23 are closed, after which the openings 24 registor with the openin s 17 cousin? fuel to discharge from the few or into the iiml-chmnber 8. .he supply of fuel to the fuel-chamber is governed by the speed of rotation of the coder, and the construction is such that fuel may be fed in desired quantity and with dei'-- 's e. 4 1. p. i. fifi 'clQ center ;of the ffii -;chemher;1s fnelf feeding ymechenism which: be. constructed. as shown, It has e cesing' poriion'14' formed of two onieal secfions'siirmountedby a hop per 155mm having ope, T40

fuel-charmer.

*bucket. iaucet 37 and the bucket 47 stein extending below the b'ottoni of the The bucket 46 he s beneath the gs beneath the faucet 38, and beneath the buckets is a water discharginigl trough 49. Suspended from the ends of t e crank-arms are pivotal links 50 carrying water-holding pans or buckets 51 for alternately sealing the'ends of the gas-conducting pipes 27, 28 and operet ir as opening and c osing valves therefor. en, for exam Ie, the rock-shaft is turned to the position Indicated in the figures, one pan 51 closes the month of the pi e 27 and the otherpan 51 is lowered to open t 1e mouth of the pig? 28, as indicated by full lines in F ig. 4. hen the shaft 42 is rocked to its limit in the other direction one pan 51 closes the pi 28 and the other pan 5!. o ens the pilpe 2 as indicated by dotted lines in Fig 4. 1e bevel-pinion 44 engages a hevehpimon 52 on a rock-shaft 53 extending beyond the end-walls of the furnace 6 where it carries cranks 54.

Extending hol'izontnll y across the front of the furnace, in the ositlon shown, are rockshafts 55 pomllclwlth the shaft 53 and provided beyond the ends of the furnace 6 with cranks 56 which are connected by rods or links 57 with the respective cranks 54. ()n the shafts 55 above the doors 40 are cranks 58 connected by chains 5!) with lugs on the ne th sheveeaj is eh nr wyiese 'ei I posi einfi buQ Q S 4 ,I j ucket 6; i.

ElOi'ldd with an opening in its y a 'check'velve .48 having e.

T setup-n suntan as "tintsg egrate-sechon 1'- b i'T-thlk throu h'the I-grate'Q-and-"more or lesshori by the and erupt;

zonta yacross thesfu'el chamber to the iout let 26 thence'through' the pipe .28 to the scrub er.

During the o ration of the furnace a con stant supply 0 water enters the scrubber from the pipe 32 falling upon the perforated dia bra m 33 and rinklmgdownwardonto and thr ugh'the co e with which the space between the erforated dia .hragm 33 and-34 is filled, reac les thebase 0 the scrubber and flows out through the pi 36. When the water rises to a sufficient epth inthe base of the scrubber it will overflowthrough the pipe 35. The water flowing out through the plpe 36 is discharged from the faucets 37, 38 mto the buckets 46, 47 re ectively. The rocking of the shaft 42, as escribed, is produced of the said buckets 46, 47 alternately. ion the bucket 46, for example, is raised, as indicated in Fig. 3, its valve 48 closes by gravity; and as at the same time the bucket 47 is lowered the stem of its valve 48 strikes the base of the trough 49 and opens said valve. The valves 48 when 0 ened permit the escape of water from the hue ets much faster than water can enter the buckets from the faucets. When the bucket 46 is filled or nearly filled with water from the faucet 37 it overcomes the resistance to rocking of the shaft 42 and descends gnckly tothe trough 49, where it home ately commences to empty. This rocking of the shaft 42 raises the then empty bucket 47 to close its valve 48 and cause it to be filled from the faucet 38 until its weight overcomes the resistance to rocking of the shaft 42. The reversal of draft through the fuelohamber is thus brought about intermittently at intervals governed by the flow ofwater from the faucets which may be easily regulated.

Rising from the ash-pit dividing-wall 13 to a height, approximately, one-half that of the chamber 8 is a baffling-wall 60 formed, preferably, as'indicated and presenting openings or passages 61. The series of passages 61 extend to or above the top of the zone of incandcscence which it is desired to maintain and operates as a means for breaking up and diffusing the drafts of products of combustion )llSSlllg from the zone of combustion to the xing zone.

Extending from a port 52 in the u Ipcr part of the fuel-chamber above the fuel-level is a pipe 63 leading to a passage 64 cored in the wall 13 at about the grate-level, Bruncha -muni 1 tinszat ashit beneath-.5. heI:'grate.-jf. fsupp1ypipei I,

hereby-the ithe-topsof flit? tfeamr ackt's' ,commumcates a-pipe:;69-;terminating'in an injector 7,0

which enters: the-lower end. of the. pipe .63

that-products of distillation are withdrawn from above the fuel-level and forced into the c direction or the other to and thro may be water sealed and that the grates may heuqwerseries-lot opemngw o p ss g -61 fiiingwmll- Su oun g th eirlcwer sides with-a wate 67.

pipe connected with i? pointing in-Jthe d rection of thesald passage fie.- flfhe'hotlgasespassin through the pipes 27, 28 generate steam in-t 'ejackets 66-wh'1ch l I is injected into the passage 64 thereby induc' draft or circulation with the result 0' lower pass es 61. These products of distih lation-pass ence with the main draft in one I ugh the 5 then zone to the then gas-on tlet. The

introduction of steam with the hydrocarbons furthermore results in the production of pager-gas by contact with the incandescent In thus describing my apparatus I do not wish to be undertood as confining myself to the articular form of the details shown in the (hawings. It is obvious that the ash-pits be of any one of a number of known forms or omitted entirely, allowing the fuel to rest on the accumulated ashes which will form the necessarysu ports for thefuel. The air may be admitte to the ash-pits under pressure from a blower or injector to operate the producer under forced draft instead of induced draft or suction. The auxiliary internal draft or circulation may be accom )lished with a fan instead of a steam jet, and in the case of fuels containing a sufficientpercentage of moisture the fan would be preferable. In such case the steam generated in the jackcts would run the fan. Such modifications and others may be made without changing the essential form of my apparatus or the functions of the several parts.

The method of operating my apparatus is as follows:-Thevalves 30 and both ash-pit doors being open. a fire is kindled on the grates, fuel for this purpose sufficient to fill the chamber about two-thirds full being introduced quickly through the food opening, the feed mechanism being temporarily lifted from its position by means of a convenient hoist. As soon as the lire is started this is lowered again in position closing the opening. The draft is now naturally through the iipcs 27 and 2S and the stack 29. This proimiuary firing is continued until the fuel on both sides of tho fllvl-clu1mlwr has lN'l'OIIN tboroughh ilu'mulvsl-out to u sulliric-nl depth and the Vflhttlll' ronsliluouts burned or driven out as shown by the :lisuppvm'mmof the thick smoke at the valves 30. 'llu' fuel 130 s m-20 shes-$5.52., p d

roducer. Thefee of:

- as in the meantime eenfstarted the" we entie t noweloscd causing t0.

ble 'as 'will soon; reae p whidli is then closed and the op ratmn:

peated with the. other naive and 1 Pipe a d fien h stacks 295 The" Born e1 gas has filled the a 2. In roduce'r, the combination with p -thefuel'ee cr-of-valved as-outletsino be*- d;-Qv rose; ase n; .,-me ppo in e haye ibeenfilled.withfieokeiandfltj'e water b. b nseidjcuuas, valved-air-inturned onwh nii he fire-was st r d ets-w t: id -"0 t fith'e eanssoperatin automatic- .allytofipemand closethe gasfoutlet andgairy steam turned on at 70.. .If an exhaust faniis employed attached to the gas ipe from the he automatic; reversing apparatus is also set'in .0perat1on.

scrubber, it is now started.

If the gas is used directly in an engine a small exhaust fan attached so as to be worked by hand will bring the gas through to the engine, which when once started keeps up the draft by suction.

In case it is desired to use a liquid fuel for the purpose of enriching the gas, such liquid fuel is mixed with the solid fuel and fed with it. The liquid fuel being volatilized in the zone of distillation the resulting gas is drawn down through the by-pass as described, and passes with the added steam through the fixmg zones. The fuel must of course have sufficient fixed carbon to keep up the supply in the fixing zones.

It ma be stated that the periodical reversal of t e horizontal draft by the method which I employ, with the addition thereto of auxiliary induced updraft effected through the agency of the injector or fan, causes the usual reactions of the producer (namely, the burning of carbon to carbonic acid by the direct combustion of the fuel in contact with air on one side and the decomposition into carbon. monoxid by passage through the body of incandescent fue on the other side) to be better and more uniformly sccu red than is possible in any other producer gas apparatus of which I am aware. At the some time, the yolatile constituents of the fuel are converted into fixed gases without loss or waste, and without the necessity for any auxiliary clean- "inlet, 1v es intermittently; the "whole being 'constructed, and arranged to direct the air from each inlet,alternateljr, into the adjacent portion of the fueLbody and in ap midmate yhorizontal direction through t e remainder of the bed, the fixed gas discharging at the open valved outlet farthest removed from the air-supplying air-inlet, the other air inlet and gas outlet being meantime closed.

3. In a as-producer, the combination with the foe -chamber of valved gas-outlets in opposite sides thereof, fuel supports in' said 0 amber between said outlets, a afllingwall between said supports extending to a plane above said outlets and provided with a plurality of fiasrpassages through it, suby as stantial escribed, and valved air-inlets at o poslte sides of the said bafliing-wall, the who e being constructed and arranged to direct the air from each inlet, alternately, into the adjacent portion of the fuel-bed and in a proximately horizontal direction through t c said baflling-wall and remainder of tie bed to fix the as, the fixed gas discharging at the open va ved outlet farthest removed from the air-supplying air-inlet, the other air-inlet and gas-outlet being meantime closed.

4. In a gasroducer, the combination with the fuel-c mmber and fuel-supports therein, of valved gas-0utlets in opposite sides of said chamber above the plane of said fuel-sup iorts, valved air-inlets entering oposite sides of the center of the chamber olow the plane of said gas-outlets, the whole t 4 ew s f l h eirrsup ai ifleshm- "betiivleensaid air inlets as-produeer, the combination fuel thereto, of valved gasoutletsin op osite' sides of the chamber, fuel supports in said chamber between said outlets. valved air-- inlets at opposite sides of the center of the chamber, a porous baffling-wall in said chamber between the said supports, and means for withdrawing products of distillation from above the mass of fuel in the fuel-chamber and discharging them into the porous baffling-wall.

6. In a as roducer, the combination with the filel-c amber and fuel-supports therein, of valved gas-outlets in opposite sides of the chamber above the plane of said fuel supports, valved air-inlets entering oposite sides of the center of the chamber be lbw the plane of said gas-outlets, o ening and closing means for the air-inlet and gas-outlet valves operating to change the direction of draft horizonta y through the fuel-bed, and steam-injecting means 0 erat' to with drew the products of dist ation in above the mass of fuel in the fuel-chamber and disehar e them into the lower portion of the fueld between said air-inlets.

7. In a sis-producer, the combination with the fuel-chamber and means for feeding fuel thereto, of valved gas-outlets in opposite that {them intoI-thelower. portion of. the. eel-ii? -'5.-In' a j" with the ins -chamber and means for feeding the chamber, and hydraulically each inlet, alterna 1,1 0 aRPPste-edeev e l.-

ninesen m ts are. nets jof idiB i aion th tha in opposite"' "'s ides thereof, a fuel-support s i mem r. bet een said Outlets; .va' je'd the center-of actuated opening and closing means for said gas-outletand air-inlet valves, the whole being con structed and arr-angled to direct the air from to y, into the adjacent portion of the fuel-bed in approximately horizontal direction throu h the remainder of the bed to fix the gas, the fixed gas discharging at the open valved outlet farthest removed from the air-supplying air-inlet, the other air-inlet and gas-outlet being mean time closed.

9. In a gas-producer, the combination with the fuel-chamber and gasscrubber, of valved gas-outlets in 0p oszte sides of said chamber leading to said scrubber, a fuelsupport in said chamber-between said cut lets, valved air-inlets at op osite sides of the center of the chamber, and means for 0 en- 1 and closing said gas-outlet and air-inlet va ves, alternately, to ch e the direction of draft horizontally throng said chamber actuated by water discharged from sai scrubber.

air-inlets. fat 5 opposite sides of FREDERICK POWELL.

In presence of- A. LITTLE, H. E. CowelLL.

rv-marti he.,;fue1 ;i

, -..e:ietsttiz t-c em e io v l s r ut e s 

